Hooks and Huston finish in double figures

BOONE, N.C. (Dec. 1, 2021) – Looking to end a four-game skid, the Bucs fell victim to App State for the second straight season, falling 81-53 inside Holmes Convocation Center. Carly Hooks (Atlanta) led all players with 18 points, while Jamir Huston (Cleveland, Ohio) added a double-double off the bench.

STAT OF THE GAME

At the 5:51 mark of the first quarter, Sarah Thompson (Gate City, Va.) knocked down her second three-pointer of the quarter, practically from the same spot as the first, to give ETSU their first and only lead of the game. Thompson would earn all nine of her points in the first quarter from beyond the arc.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Hooks, marking her third start of the season, posted a game-high 18 points on 8-18 shooting and 2-2 from the free-throw line. Hooks also added seven boards and one assist in a game-high 31 minutes. ETSU shot 31 percent from the field.

App State had four players in double figures with Michaela Porter finishing with a team-high 17 and Alexia Allesch adding a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds). App State shot 44 percent from the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams caught fire early including Thompson, who buried her nine points all from beyond the arc in the first quarter. The Bucs took their first lead of the game off Thompson’s second three-pointer at the 5:51 mark, but App State responded with a three-pointer of their own. Both teams ended the first quarter shooting over 40-percent from the field and 50-percent from three.

There was one combined made field goal to start the second quarter, an App State layup at the 9:08 mark before a layup from Huston cut App State’s lead to six. A free throw from Huston made it a four-point game, but the two squads would go back and forth before the Mountaineers took the final six points of the quarter to go up 13 into halftime.

The third quarter was all App State, opening the quarter on an 11-0 run forcing Simon Harris to use a timeout. The Bucs got their first field goal of the quarter on a layup from Hooks, but the Mountaineers responded quickly. Huston and Abby Carrington (Westlake, Ohio) added to ETSU’s point total in the quarter, but a 31-point quarter from App State put ETSU in a big hole.

The Bucs still showed life late, outscoring the Mountaineers 16-8 in the final ten minutes, as Huston and Hooks combined for 11 of those 16 points. The Bucs only attempted one three-pointer in the final quarter but went 6-8 from the free-throw line.

NOTABLES

• Hooks’ 18-point performance is the most for her since her career-high 20-point game in the SoCon semifinal game against Wofford in the spring.
• ETSU, averaging a conference-leading 9.9 steals per game, registered eight tonight. Demi Burdick (Marshall, Ill.) and Amaya Adams (Kansas City, Mo.) each recorded a pair of steals.
• Huston (12 points and 10 rebounds) posted her first double-double as a Buccaneer. She’s the lone Buc to record a double-double this season
• ETSU had the upper hand on second-chance points, winning the offensive rebound battle (9 to 7) and the second-chance points battle (6 to 2).
• The Bucs have lost five straight games since early last season. The Bucs lost their fifth consecutive last season against App State but won their next game at home.

RECORDS UPDATE

• ETSU: 1-7
• App State: 5-3

NEXT UP

ETSU comes home to face UNC-Asheville on Friday, December 10 with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. inside Brooks Gym.

For more information on Buccaneer women’s basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s basketball page.